UH student dies after being struck by alleged drunk driver

Mark Tartaglio and Corina Burnett﻿ were struck by a suspected drunken driver while walking on campus.

Mark Tartaglio and Corina Burnett﻿ were struck by a suspected drunken driver while walking on campus.

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Mark Tartaglio and Corina Burnett﻿ were struck by a suspected drunken driver while walking on campus.

Mark Tartaglio and Corina Burnett﻿ were struck by a suspected drunken driver while walking on campus.

Photo: handout

UH student dies after being struck by alleged drunk driver

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A University of Houston student died Saturday, a day after he and his girlfriend were struck by another student who was allegedly driving drunk near campus.

Early Friday morning, Mark Tartaglio and his girlfriend, Corina Burnett, were walking on a sidewalk in the 5000 block of Calhoun, near MacGregor Way. They were both struck by a pickup truck that had careened off the roadway after colliding with another vehicle.

Tartaglio and Burnett were transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where Tartaglio later died.

Tartaglio was a sophomore studying construction management at UH, according to his LinkedIn page. He was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity at UH, and worked at River Oaks Country Club. The couple had been together since November.

Over the weekend, Tartaglio's death was met with an outpouring of grief online from friends and family members. Matthew Tartaglio, simply wrote, "R.I.P. Mark. I love you," on Twitter.

Others expressed dismay and anger over the news that his death had reportedly been caused by a drunk driver.

"Your life was cut short because of an imbecile's careless decision of drinking and driving," wrote Jessica Rhydlund on Facebook, adding that she knew Tartaglio when she was still attending UH. "Please, everyone, think twice, even three times, before drinking and driving and stop those who attempt to do so."

"Drinking and driving is something everyone can avoid," wrote Kaitlin Santibanez on Facebook. "Please let Mark be a symbol for a lesson learned to all of us. He was kind and sweet and always smiling."

By Sunday afternoon, a GoFundMe page set up by another UH student had raised more than $15,000 toward Tartaglio's medical bills.

"All those that know Mark and Corina know that they are some of the kindest, most caring people you'll ever meet," wrote Dawson Pickett, the student who created the page, "and in anyone's time of need they are always just a phone call away."

Prior to enrolling at UH, Tartaglio studied at Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land.

Houston police took Marshall Patrick Schoen, 23, into custody, charging him with intoxicated assault with a vehicle, a felony. According to UH's directory, Schoen is currently a student.

At around 12:10 a.m. on Friday, Schoen allegedly tried to pass the driver of a black Infiniti who was attempting to complete a lefthand turn. After ramming his white pickup truck into the front of the Infiniti, Schoen spun onto the sidewalk, where he hit Tartaglio and Burnett, said said Sgt. James Roque of the Houston Police Department.

Schoen's bail was set at $30,000. He remained in custody as of early Sunday evening.

In November, Schoen was charged with driving with an invalid license, a misdemeanor offense. In mid-February, authorities declared his $500 bond on that case forfeited when he failed to appear in court.